Cyanogen

Cyanogen is a US-based mobile software company which produces Android-based firmware for mobile devices. The company started life back in 2009 with the arrival of CyanogenMod, a custom ROM for the T-Mobile G1 created primarily by Steve "Cyanogen" Kondik. As Android grew in popularity during the following years, CyanogenMod grew in reach and feature set, with a vast community of contributors maintaining CM support across dozens — and eventually hundreds — of devices. With CyanogenMod, Android owners able to load custom firmware on to their device could replace the manufacturer's software experience with CM, gaining new features, increased control (with optional root access), a visual style closer to Google's vision of Android — and often improved performance to boot. CyanogenMod is an open-source OS based on the Android Open-Source Project.

In 2013 Cyanogen, Inc. was founded by Kondik and leading individuals in the CM community with venture capital funding, in order to expand upon CM and make the project commercially viable. The following year saw the launch of the OnePlus One, running the new Cyanogen OS, launched in partnership between Cyanogen and Chinese newcomer OnePlus. That device featured a new version of CM, dubbed CyanogenMod 11s, with additional closed-source features designed for the OnePlus One. In late 2014 Cyanogen announced a partnership with Micromax in India, which would see that manufacturer exclusively carry CM phones in that country.

Alcatel joined the party at Mobile World Congress 2015, with the Cyanogen-powered OneTouch Hero 2+. And in early 2015 the company raised $80 million in funding from investors including mobile giants like Twitter, Qualcomm and Telefónica — but not the widely rumored Microsoft.

The current stable version of Cyanogen's software is CyanogenMod 11, based upon Android 4.4 KitKat. CM12, based upon the Android 5.0 Lollipop release, is in development at the time of writing.

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Cyanogen has closed out their C round of investments with a strategic investment from Foxconn.
The team at Cyanogen has ended another round of investments, this time with Foxconn pitching in as well. To date the company has raised $100 million in funding, while pushing forward to break Android...

Cyanogen is pushing the final snapshot releases of CyanogenMod 11 and 12 as they shift focus to CM12.1.
Cyanogen has announced that it is starting to push the final releases for CyanogenMod (CM) 11 and 12. With these final snapshot releases, CM development will shift towards CM12.1, based on...

Cyanogen OS is getting a gaming boost from Playphone in emerging markets.
Cyanogen has announced a partnership with Playphone, a sort of mobile gaming social network and store all in one, that will see the service installed on Cyanogen OS phones in "key international markets."
If you're...

All Cyanogen

We've seen no shortage of changes around Cyanogen OS this past year. The folks at Cyanogen seem all too happy to integrate software partners into their flavor of Android recently, simultaneously creating new experiences and inviting criticism from users who originally switched to Cyanogen OS...

Alcatel OneTouch and Cyanogen have released a statement regarding the release of the Hero 2+, in which both companies reveal that they will not be releasing the device. In a mutual agreement, the companies have decided to forgo the release of the device as it 'does not have a clear Android 5.1...

Cyanogen is pushing the final snapshot releases of CyanogenMod 11 and 12 as they shift focus to CM12.1.
Cyanogen has announced that it is starting to push the final releases for CyanogenMod (CM) 11 and 12. With these final snapshot releases, CM development will shift towards CM12.1, based on...

Cyanogen OS is getting a gaming boost from Playphone in emerging markets.
Cyanogen has announced a partnership with Playphone, a sort of mobile gaming social network and store all in one, that will see the service installed on Cyanogen OS phones in "key international markets."
If you're...

Taking screenshots is easy with Cyanogen OS.
So you've got your Cyanogen OS device, and now you want to know how to take a screenshot. Maybe it's because you've found something that could in fact alter the space time continuum and you need proof, or you just want to show off your awesome new...

Cyanogen OS, like all Android devices, has tools baked in to make use easier for just about anyone.
Smartphones are remarkable tools for communication of all forms, and in an age where more and more people are starting to use these devices as their first and primary computer it has never...

No other commercial version of Android makes it easy to record video from your device.
The ability to take a screenshot on your Android device is one of those things that has been around forever, but became a much bigger deal once Google made it a standard feature that could be done right...

If you're a fan of playing music on your phone, the Cyanogen OS lock screen offers something special for you.
Generally speaking, companies who feel the need to mess with the Android lock screen need to stop. The update to Lollipop this year is a perfect example of how to do a lot of things...

Walking the line between simple and powerful is something the Cyanogen OS Camera app does better than most.
Camera apps need to be all about getting the right shot as quickly as possible, which means there's a lot more to these apps than just a shutter button. The mission critical features...

Like many other third party Gallery apps, the Cyanogen OS offering is all about offering a single destination for all of your photos.
It's reasonably safe to say that most smartphone camera users fall into two categories. Your photos are either meticulously organized into folders and you...

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